Wasteland Armor - PAW/Roman themed outfit *Updated 3/4*

[Dawgboy]

I will be there too, look for me in barter town.

[Sckitzo]

Welp. guess what? I wasn't supposed to rivet the fucking back, and also, want to know why all APOC movies show stop signs? Because these things are fucking INVINCIBLE, sorry, getting peevish, bending the metal has caused me to pop like 6 rivets in the last 10 minutes, really don't think these were designed for this sort of project, I've taken to smashing the rivets together with a pair of vice grips.

Also this thing is going to be a massive bitch to put on, massive, it's fairly tight on me, I'm not sure who they took measurements from, but it must have been a super model...

[thesupremeking]

ha ha you have the floorplan of my old house EXACTLY off of grant and silverbell. I know where you poop in relation to where you are in your pics. violating. Oh, cool costume btw.

[Sckitzo]

Lol, that's sorta awesome, can't remember where grant and silverbell is, but I'm at near Ajo and Mission

[Oneswunk]

Looking good man, your gonna light up like a christmas tree.

Im starting some tire/scrap metal armour this weekend to be part of this years halloween show at my place. Man I would give lefty to go to burning man.

[Dawgboy]

thats about what it costs... tickets are going for 4 times face value on EviLbay...

[Sckitzo]

Some updates, I'm having a bitch of a time bending the metal by hand, my tiny vice just isn't really helping either. Also got the construction finished on the helmet, now just gotta paint and weather.

[Ad'lan]

Needs a crest.

Love the armour.

When you say weatherIng, bullet holes?

[Sckitzo]

Needs a crest.

Love the armour.

When you say weatherIng, bullet holes?

Bullet holes, maybe drag it behind my car a bit, hit it a bit with a hammer, shoot some cheap arrows and throw rocks at it.

I thought about a crest, but I am still trying to get my hands on that Coyote Pelt first.

Before I weather it though, I think I'm going to hit the helmet a bunch with a metallic spray paint, then another light coat of that red you see, then scratch and ding it up some so it looks metal underneath.

[Ad'lan]

If I was local, I would be so very much available to help 'weather' the armour.

[Sckitzo]

Fly down, this is like only the worse possible time of year for someone of your local to visit someone of mine, only a small chance you may die from heat stroke....

Also, and maybe this is the Russian Beer (Balkita 9) taking, but I am finding it sorta of amusing and ironic that I'm building this and Ceasers Legions from FO New Vegas came from Arizona....

[JägerZ]

Looks good Sckitzo, very Mad Max/ Blood Of Heros! Sorry I didn't see this sooner, I used to be an amourer's apprentice and would be happy to give you advice/suggestions. I used to have templates for Lorica Segmenta and a few other patterns as well, they are pretty easy to remake. If I can be of help let me know.

[Sckitzo]

Looks good Sckitzo, very Mad Max/ Blood Of Heros! Sorry I didn't see this sooner, I used to be an amourer's apprentice and would be happy to give you advice/suggestions. I used to have templates for Lorica Segmenta and a few other patterns as well, they are pretty easy to remake. If I can be of help let me know.

Do you have any idea how I could bend the stop sign metal without screwing it up? I thought about dishing it, like we used to do for the SCA, but A) Don't have the stuff, B) forgot how to do it and C) Pretty sure it will wreck all the paint...

[JägerZ]

The problem with sign metal is that it is rather brittle. I have worked with it a few times and you can dish and planish it but it will tend to split and of course it would completely ruin the paint. It's also a real pain in the ass! As for bending it, you can use a piece of iron pipe 6"- 8" in diameter and bend it by hand then use a mallet to even it out.

Also, it looks to me like you are using brass rivets, copper rivet are much better and eaiser to work with. You can get rivets and spurs at most leather supply houses. Skora Leather up on Ft. Lowell Rd. is a good place. Are you using a rivet tool or are you just hammer-closing them?

[JägerZ]

Another thing, I know you are going for the post-apocolypse look but take a file and clean up and radius the edges and corners of the plates a bit or you will end up with some unpleasent "armour bites".

[Sckitzo]

The problem with sign metal is that it is rather brittle. I have worked with it a few times and you can dish and planish it but it will tend to split and of course it would completely ruin the paint. It's also a real pain in the ass! As for bending it, you can use a piece of iron pipe 6"- 8" in diameter and bend it by hand then use a mallet to even it out.

Also, it looks to me like you are using brass rivets, copper rivet are much better and eaiser to work with. You can get rivets and spurs at most leather supply houses. Skora Leather up on Ft. Lowell Rd. is a good place. Are you using a rivet tool or are you just hammer-closing them?

I just knabbed what Tandy Leather hand, using the hammer and post thingy, though I was getting lazy near the end and started smashing them together with vice grips.

I'm gonna take a grinder to it once I get to a spot where I can stop on it for the most part, the biggest issue is getting the metal to bend how I need it. I thought about heating it up, but pretty sure that will torch the paint =(

[colinz]

A heat gun from the backside may work. I'd try that and use a large diameter metal pipe as a former.

Our stop signs are made from ABS IIRC, a bit easier to work with.

[Sckitzo]

I'll ask around see if anyone has a heatgun, and what is ABS? Isn't that plastic or some crap?

[JägerZ]

Yes, ABS is a type of high-impact plastic often used in football and motorcycle helmets.

How's the project coming along Skitzo?

[Sckitzo]

Right now, it's not, I sorta burned my self out and am being lazy, I need to finish it up asap before class starts though, this part is just such a pain without a proper vice, hmm maybe I can rig something up using a long piece of wood actually, 1ft section of wood, or two and sandwhich the metal in there, problem is I can't get to deep into it, and I really don't want the pop the rivets and then bend it

I just can't figure out how the guys on the site I got the patern got their stuff to line up so perfectly, maybe I should pop the rivets and lace it with 550, they used leather strips to lace it so maybe that is what is causing the problem?

[Sckitzo]

So from looking at this, it looks like I shouldn't have riveted it together at the back, but instead at front and rear of each half, then it would tie each half together...

Looks like I am making another trip to the leather shop..FML

[Sckitzo]

So, taking it all apart, I started re-measuring the metal, 31in per complete length (15in and 16in piece) I am not seeing any way in Hell that this will work,

http://www.larp.com/legioxx/lorA4.gif

That is the pattern for the girlde pieces, can someone tell me why my math must be fucked up?

Luckily I still have the Road Closed Sign to cut up, I was hoping to use it as a Scutum and I still may be able to if I cut carefully, maybe...

Now I just gotta figure how to salvage some of the stop sign pieces as it worked so perfectly being a red color, maybe once I can figure out this measurement issue, I can mix and match some. Or all else fails, work it into the foot ball pads I have, hell maybe even cut it up some more and use it as a full piece of arm err armor.

[Sckitzo]

Ok

This is going to be confusing, but using it as my notes also, please feel free to read it over and double check my math and such...

The Road Closed Sign is 46x30
Scutums are actually smaller than I thought (and I'll lean towards the smaller side on the scale due to weight)
So I can make it 37x25.5

The girdles slabs are 2.25in in width, not sure on the length yet
With certain cuts I can get
4 - 2.25 x 30
2 - 2.25 x 37

OR

4 - 2.25 x 25.5
2 - 2.25 x 46

So I could almost completely redo it with just these pieces, maybe, but I want to try and do a 50/50 split with it and stop sign pieces if I can. I need to go take some better measurments though and figure out just how long the girdle pieces are going to be...

ETA:

Ok took a measurement of my chest, 40in (that's with that vest on ) does this sound about right?

So I need a total of 7, 40in sections, ideally that would be 14 20in ones, but...not gonna happen I'm afraid.

with cut #2
I can get 8 of those pieces outright and while it won't be even, can get the number up to 16 using the stop sign pieces. Makes the armor about 4in longer then what I had, and 2in longer than the plans, so I can cut out one section... Going to be some funny math though...

A)4 Sections of 25&15 (white and red)
B)2 Sections of 24&16 (white and red)
C)1 Section of 20&20 (all white)

So means I can do....

C ---- C
A ---- A
A ---- A
A ---- A
A ---- A
B ---- B
B ---- B

My rational is, the screwed up pieces, will be going in the down taper, so I may be able to sorta overlap them on the back a bit, since my stomach area isn't 40in, but don't want to cut the pieces exactly as they will make how they lay really odd, but may be able to cheat a bit with the lacing, if that makes any sense...

[JägerZ]

Just a suggestion;

Go buy several sheets of heavy posterboard, a hole punch, some string (or your paracord) and a box of brads (like this: http://www.officemax.com/office-supplie ... t-ARS21703) and build the whole suit from that, make "leather" straps from strips of duct tape folded in half.

Once you get it all fitted properly just disassemble it and use the various parts as templates.